James Wright’s Horses

by W. E. Butts

There are certain words
that transport us out of those small spaces
we sometimes live in:
prognosis, cancer, treatment, memory loss.

For instance, leaving the clinic this warm afternoon,
I can’t forget James Wright in that pasture
of beautiful horses:

Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.

There are certain words
that will transport us
to that other, flowering self.